LYNCHBURG, VA.,
February 15, 1850.
TO THE HON. D. S.
DICKINSON—Sir—My attention has been particularly attracted, in common with
others of my fellow-citizens of all parties, to a speech of yours delivered in
the Senate of the United States in reply to Mr. Clemens and others, upon the
unhappy subject which now threatens the overthrow of this glorious Union.
I know you not, nor
have any favor to ask at your hands; I abhor office-seeking and despise
flattery and adulation. I desire simply as a democrat, a southron, and a lover
of the Union, to thank you and to tender the humble homage of my sincere
admiration for the speech in question, which I would rather have delivered,
under the circumstances, than to be the "Thunderer" of Buena Vista; a
speech which, permit me to say, if you do nothing more to entitle you to the
character of a public benefactor, will embalm your memory in the affections of
the truly virtuous and patriotic every where throughout the broad limits of
this Union.
Unpremeditated as it
seems to have been, it nevertheless bears the marks, in my humble judgment, of
profound political sagacity, presenting the only grounds, and suggesting the
only means, whereby this Union can be preserved. The sentiments are just and
eminently patriotic, rebuking the spirit of faction at the North and South. It
bears the stamp of a profound statesman, whose public course is dictated by
honesty, independence, and the public good—a rare example in these days of
degeneracy and corruption. It betrays a lofty spirit which looks down with
unutterable contempt upon the miserable demagogues, who, by agitating this
subject, traitorously sow the seeds of disunion, of war and desolation, merely
to subserve their own purposes of self-aggrandizement; and it shows the spirit
of one, too, who cannot be driven from the performance of his duty either by
the insolence and violence of faction, or by the fear of the loss of power and
place. Permit me to say that, "in my heart of hearts," I love the
honest and independent statesman, and not the less because he is the representative
of the great State of New York. I merely penned these lines for the purpose of
contributing so far as a very humble fellow-countryman unknown to you could, to
cheer you on in your noble and patriotic course. You are right, Sir; and rely
upon it, if this Union is to be preserved at all, it can only be done upon your
principles.
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